Got Five Million Singapore Dollars? Citibank Wants You

Citibank in Singapore has a new premium credit card. But don’t call them, they’ll call you — assuming you qualify.

The piece of plastic, a new Ultima credit card launched Oct. 12, is only available for people with at least five million Singapore dollars (US$3.83 million) in assets under management at Citibank. And even then, you will need a personal invitation to get one.

Invitations have already been extended to, and accepted by, many of the region’s wealthiest people. Singapore is ripe for the picking: The city-state had the highest concentration of millionaire households in the world, accounting for 11.4% of all households, according to the Boston Consulting Group’s 2010 Global Wealth Report.

The bank’s new premier card is an upgrade from the original launched seven years ago. That one, which will still be available in Singapore as well as other Asian countries, has a different minimum requirement, an annual salary of S$350,000 or more. For current holders of the old Ultima card, an invitation to the new card isn’t guaranteed unless they meet the S$5 million criteria.
So what do you get with the new card? It comes with a personal 24/7 “lifestyle manager.” While the old Ultima card offered a 24-hour concierge hotline, card carriers didn’t receive an assigned representative.

“We are essentially bringing the private-banking experience…to the credit-card space for the first time,” says Mr. Han Kwee Juan, a managing director at the bank. “Card members will have their own dedicated lifestyle manager who will act as their trusted lifestyle adviser.”

There are six such managers on staff now in Singapore. Most have experience in high-end retail and they will help with anything from finding Hermès bags to arranging meetings with Geneva watchmakers and organizing truffle hunts in Alba.

Singapore is the first market in Asia for Citibank’s latest Ultima card, which carries a whopping annual fee of S$3,888 (the old Ultima card fee was S$2,000) — “a lucky number,” says a Citibank spokeswoman, and one that shouldn’t make a dent in the wallet for those who qualify.